Ask the Burke: What’s a seahawk?

Experts at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture answer your questions in the latest installment of Ask the Burke. Got a question for next time? Send it here.

What is a seahawk?

The Seattle Seahawks got their name as the result of a fan contest in 1975. The team ownership judged over 20,000 entries and selected Seahawks as the best choice. But what exactly is a “seahawk”?

Zoologically speaking, there is no bird called a seahawk. But the term “sea hawk” is used as a nickname for the osprey. Ospreys are also referred to as “fish hawks” or “fish eagles.” Aren’t you glad Seattle’s football team isn’t called the Fish Hawks?

Osprey talons are uniquely adapted for catching and carrying fish. Ospreys rarely stray from their all-fish diet and will only prey on small mammals and birds if no fish are available. They like to stay near water, building nests on top of dead trees or artificial structures near rivers, lakes, reservoirs, or other large bodies of water.

So are you likely to spot a real sea hawk flying around Qwest Field? Probably not during football season, but between late March and early September, ospreys can definitely be seen around the Puget Sound region. Some ospreys even nest in Seattle on cell-phone towers along the Duwamish River.

A young Osprey, the real version of the Seahawk’s Blitz. (Getty Images photos)

Read more about ospreys on BirdWeb, Seattle Audubon Society’s excellent catalog of Washington State birds.

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